Stiffener for flannel-shirt collars



(No Model.)

L- S. SAMUEL.

,STIFPENBR FOR PLANNEL SHIRT OOLLARS. No. 447,364. Patented Mar-3, 1891.

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" as Ava/M UNITED STATES 'ATENT rmon.

LEOPOLD S. SAMUELOF NEWARK, NElV JERSEY.

STIFFENER FOR FLANNEL-SHIRT C'OLLARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 447,364, dated March 3,1891.

Application filed December 8, 1889. Serial No. 332.427. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, LEOPOLD S. SAMUEL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Shirts and AttachmentsTherefo r andI do hereby declare the following to beafull, clear, andexact description of. the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of referencemarked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

The object of this invention is to provide stiffeners for the collars offlannel shirts and other similar woolen garments, which stiffeners canbe readily detached from the said garment when the same is to belaundered.

It consists in the improved support or stiffener, and in thearrangements and combinations of parts, substantially as will behereinafter set forth, and finally embraced in the claim.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in

whichlikeletters indicate corresponding parts in each of the figures,Figure 1 is a front view of ashirt having the improved collar-stiffener.Fig. 2 is a plan of the stifiener in its preferred form detached fromthe shirt and opened up in its blank form, and Fig. 3 illustrates aslight modification of construction. Fig. 4 shows in detail a metallicfastener which may be employed. Y

In said drawings, a indicates a woolen garinent having a collar 12 oflike material. As

ordinarily used, woolen garments having 001- lars are not starched, butdepend for their stiffness on buekram or other stiffeners permanentlyinserted beneath the outer fabric of wool, where it will lie hidden fromview. By permanently inserting such a stiffenerbeneath the collar of agarment, when the same is laundered the wash-water removes the starchfrom the fabric, so that its value as a stiffener is reduced, andbecause of unequal shrinkage of the woolen cloth and stiffening materialthe set of the collar is made uneven and imperfect.

Inmy improvement the stiffening= pieces are separable from the collar orare removably fastened thereto, so that the said stiffenfiber.

ers may be easily and quickly detached from the soiled shirt and betransferred to another without damage to the garment or the trouble andtime consumed in ripping. Said stiffeners conform in general outline andwidth to the turned-down front ends of the collar,and extend from theupper turned edge or line of folding in the collar, where it bearsupwardly against said collar, to the lower edge of said collar, where itreceives the removable fasteners, the collar thereby being held outsmoothly on the face of the stiffener, so that the point of the collarcannot roll or otherwise lose its proper shape while in use. Thestiffener I prefer to use consists of a piece of stiff material,preferably such as will be unaffected when subjected to the action ofwater-as, for example, celluloid or varnished It may be of any shapesuited to the prevailing style or styles; but is preferably shaped asshown in Fig. 2, where said stiffener is shown to be wide at the end, asat c, in correspondence with the shirt-collars now in vogue, and narrowat (l, where it extends toward the back of the neck of the shirt. Thesaid portions 0 (I lie underneath the collar at one side of the woolengarment, and are secured thereto by suitable fasteners e, a similarstiffener being provided for the portion of the collar lying on theopposite side of the neck of said garment. The perforations are formedand the separable or removable fasteners are secured at or near theouter edges of the collar and stiffeners, so that the former may be heldout smoothly on the face of the stiffener, whereby the said edges areprevented from curling up and showing the stiffener beneath.

The fasteners for securing the stiffenerto the collar may belacing-cords or metallic fasteners, such as shown in Fig. 4, in which ff are prongs which extend t rough the collar of the shirt or garment andthrough perforations 9 9 prepared in the stiffeners. Said prongs arebent down, as indicated in outline,to hold the parts together in place.At the upper edge the stiffener is provided with a lap or fold it, whichis adapted to lie against the body portion of the shirt and be securedtherethrough by means of fasteners of any kind 'to more perfectly holdthe stiffener in proper relation to the collar. It also acts as a stayfor the necktie-strap and to provide a rounded edge beneath the upperedge of the collar, to which it is secured, which conduces to the easeand comfort of the wearer;

It will be understood from inspection of Fig. 1 that two parts of thestiifeners are separate and apart at the back of the neck, the saidstiffeners not extending continuously around the rear of the neck. Bythis arrangement the shirt is allowed to remain easy and loose on thewearers neck, and not firm and stiff,

as in the case of a starched collar. Further: more, the shirt-collar canbe turned up more easily than if the stiffener were in one piece, aswill be apparent.

In Fig. 3 the stiffening sections or pieces are shown to be providedwith perforations i i i, by which said said stiffeners maybe united bylaces or fasteners, making a continuous stiffener. In this case the saidcontinuous stiffener may be made adjustable to suit any variety in thesize and shape of shirt or wearers neck. llowever, ordinarily I preferan open back, for the reason and advantage stated.

I am aware that metallic springs, (not conforming to the shape of thecollar,) buckram,

and other stiff fabrics have been permanently inserted in collars ofgarments in various ways; but separable collar-stiffeners conformable tothe collar, so as to hold the edges of the same out in proper shape andhaving a general adaptability, as described, I believe to be novel.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new is Thecombination, with a soft collar of a garment, of a collar-stiifenerconforming to the outline of the forward ends of the collar, the saidcollar-stiffener being perforated to receive removable fasteners andbeing in sections, whereby the front edges of the collar-stiffener maybe changed in its relation to the front edges of thezcollar, and saidfasteners holding the free edge of the collar from rolling,substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this12th day of November, 1889.

LEOPOLD SAMUEL.

IVitnesses:

CHARLES H. FELL, CHARLES R. 1\[IoHEL.

